Smoldering Embers
by Archanem
Summary: Danny was too late to save his friends and family from the Nasty Burger explosion, and died himself. Now he just wanders though the Ghost Zone, wallowing in depression, but all of that is about to change. DannyXEmber After Ultimate Enemy
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any characters associated with the series. If I did, I'd have a ghost army at my disposal, wreaking havoc everywhere.**

**This is a fic that I started because a friend of mine likes the pairing and told me she didn't see enough good stories for them.**

* * *

Danny hated himself. Clockwork had sent him back a split second too late, and the Nasty Burger had exploded, killing all of his friends and destroying his mortal body in the process. He would have gone back to Clockwork, but he couldn't find the time-twisting ghost, no matter how hard he searched. In fact, he had searched so hard that he was now lost, wandering aimlessly through the Ghost Zone. He'd passed several natural portals to the living world, but there was nothing there for him but painful memories.

Just as he had given up everything, he ran into one of many people he didn't want to see. Skulker. He had enough power to take the brute, but nowhere near enough resolve to fight. "What is it, Skulker?"

"Simple, whelp. I heard about your little depression problem and decided to put you out of your misery." The hunter whipped out a familiar-looking thermos. "Like it? I designed it especially for you. It's a new piece of weaponry that can rip a ghost apart, molecule by molecule, until there's nothing left of you but empty space that smells like hormones."

"Honestly, I don't care anymore. If you're so happy with your new toy, why don't you try it out?"

"Well, aren't we pathetic? Since you want it so badly, I suppose I must oblige you." The hulking bionic shell pointed the open end of the thermos at Danny, open end first. It began to glow.

As Danny closed his eyes, a new, yet known voice entered his ears. "Isn't that a bit harsh, Skulky? He may be a brat, but he doesn't deserve to die."

"Don't question me! This whelp will die for his many years of humiliating me!"

Danny opened his eyes to the image of Skulker backhanding Ember, who had presumably been the one defending him. "Hey, that's uncalled for. Just because she was showing a shred of decency doesn't mean she needs to be beaten senseless."

"Be quiet, boy. She's my catch, and as such I will do as I please with her."

"I'm just saying. I know a bit about ruining relationships, seeing as I just about murdered my friends and family. Looks like you're about to travel the same path."

"Silence, you insolent little shit. This bitch needs to learn discipline, so I'm teaching her. You have no say in the matter."

"Oooh. Big bad Skulker learned a few curses. You're starting to piss me off with all of your treating people like possessions nonsense."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"This." A beam of green light hit Skulker square in the jaw, knocking the fake thermos out of his hand. "You should have killed me when you had the chance."

Danny caught the spinning thermos and opened it towards Skulker out of habit. By the time he realized what he had done, the hunting ghost had been torn to shreds. Danny simply floated there, gaping. He had done it again. He had been responsible for yet another being to be wiped out of existence. As the realization sank in, he became increasingly horrified, bordering on going into shock. He was pulled out of his despair-ridden trance by Ember's voice.

"Thanks for sticking up for me but this doesn't make us square, got it?"

"Yeah, Ember. Whatever." Danny started floating away.

"You think you're the only one in the entire Ghost Zone with problems, don't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you gotta stop wallowing in your self-pity and move on. You indirectly killed some people, yeah. You did accidentally annihilate a Ghost. That may be some messed up stuff, but what's done is done. You gotta stop living in the past. Don't start worrying about the future, either. The here and now, that's what matters."

"You sound like your speaking from personal experience."

"Maybe I am, maybe not. See you later, dipstick." The ghost rock star winked as she flew away.

Danny sighed and headed in the opposite direction. He realized that what she said was true, but there's no such thing as instant recovery. He decided to take his depression to the same place normal people did. He headed for the nearest bar.

* * *

He went on like this for a while, moving from bar to bar, drinking his troubles away, though he had no idea what they were serving him that could make a ghost drunk. He quickly became famous across every bar in the Ghost Zone as a lone drinker who didn't socialize much except to ask for another drink. No one bothered him. This was partly because, without him protecting Amity Park, they had no need to fight him, and partly because few were willing to face one of the most powerful—if not the single most powerful—ghosts in the world in a drunken rage.

After about seven months of this repetitive drinking, he stopped at a bar called the Creepy Cantina, picked a corner and asked for a particularly strong beverage. Suddenly he heard a voice he recognized.

"Make that two."

Danny simply mumbled, "Ember."

"Nice to see you too, baby pop."

"So what brings Ember Mclain, the most famous musician in the ghost zone, to a rundown place like this? No offense, Joe." He addressed the last part to the owner, who happened to be the bartender.

"None taken. It's a dump."

"Anyway, the question stands."

"Well, business isn't great. People just get bored of the same songs, you know?"

"Why not just write some more?" Danny gave her a somewhat questioning look. It was the first display of emotion elicited from him in a while.

"You make it sound so simple."

"You do have literally all the time in the world to write."

"It doesn't matter. When I'm not inspired, I can't write. Period. End of story!"

"Calm down, Ember, just trying to help."

"Yeah, sorry. Must be the booze." By now they had both finished five or six drinks. "Why are you helping me anyway. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of lone wolf who doesn't say a word to anyone but the bartender?"

"Yeah, I guess that about sums it up, but I'd be worse off if you didn't help me out a while back. I'd still be just a wanderer." The silence bathed them for a while at the memory of Skulker's final day, until Ember broke it.

"Hey, I know! Let me see your iPod! Don't give me that look, I know you have one."

Danny pulled the device out of his pocket. "Why do you want it?"

"Maybe if I listen to some other music, I'll get inspiration for some new songs."

"Then you won't get much help here." He started to put it back.

"Why not? Just give it here." She yanked it out of his hand and started scrolling through it. "Hey, why are all of the songs on your iPod mine? You don't have some sick perverted rivalry crush on me do you?"

For the first time in the two years since he'd entered the Ghost Zone, Danny Phantom blushed. "No, No. Nothing like that. I just thought if I was going to spend eternity in the Ghost Zone, I should listen to the music of the Ghost Zone."

"Oh, okay. That makes a little sense. Shit, is it really that late? I gotta go, but thanks for the drinks, baby pop."

"Wait, wha—" And just like that, she was out the door. He footed the bill, noting that she had drunk twelve mugs of whatever that stuff was. He chuckled inwardly at the thought of her being arrested for flying while intoxicated and left the building to find the nearest hotel.

His joke wasn't nearly as funny when he woke up the next morning to the crappy hotel T.V. showing a mug shot of Ember, who was arrested the night before for unsafe flying. "Oh, the irony," He mumbled.

She was being held by Walker, which Danny thought was a bit extreme for a little drunkenness. Suddenly, his cell phone rang, and he remembered that he had had a lot to drink last night, too.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Danny. I'm in a little pinch here."

"I saw it on the news. Where'd you get this number?"

"I've still got your iPod, dipstick."

"Oh, right."

"Now can we please get back to my single, very important phone call?"

"If it's so important, why call me?"

"Kitty's mad at me for kissing Johnny a while back. Long story. Maybe I can tell you when I get out of prison!"

"Alright, alright. What do you need?"

"I need you to come post my bail."

"I already paid for all the drinks you had last night."

"Which is why you should help me. You're partially to blame for letting me drink so much."

"Fine, Fine." The line went dead.

He got directions and made his way to Walker's prison. He posted her twelve thousand dollar bail, muttering about how ridiculous it was. They were walking out of the prison when there was a heavily accented voice behind them.

"Where do y'all think you're goin'?"

"I paid her bail, Walker. We're leaving."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that. You see, All the publicity from her arrest, combined with you posting her bail, has made this prison a hefty sum in funds, to say the least. Therefore, I cannot allow her to leave."

"Alright, Walker, since I'm obviously going to have to fight you, why don't we raise the stakes? If I win, Ember and I both have our records wiped clean, and I get back the money for her bail."

"That's a lot to ask. What if I win?"

"I double the bail amount and you keep her here."

"That's all?"

"And you get me."

"That's more like it. You're on, boy."

The fight, while intense, was over in a matter of seconds. Walker shot ecto-rope at Danny, and Danny simply dodged it and fired several ghost rays in rapid succession, all finding their marks somewhere on walker's body.

Walker was forced to admit defeat, and Danny got his money back.

Ember, of course, had something to say as soon as they got out of the prison.

"Well wasn't that sweet? You risked your ass to save mine. If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a soft spot for me."

"Save you? Please. I just wanted my money back. Besides, I've beaten him before, and he hasn't gotten any better."

The flaming-haired rock star rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, dipstick."

"Well, anyway, I guess this is where we go our separate ways. Bye, Ember. See you at some bar somewhere."

"Hmm… Nah, I think I'll hang out with you for a while."

"Do I have a choice in the matter?"

"Nope."

"Fine, just make sure you can keep up." The green-eyed boy sighed and shook his head.

"Alright then."

The two continued on, wandering in search of a bar, chatting idly on their way. They mostly talked about music, seeing as that was Ember's business. When Ember asked where Danny got all the money he'd been using from, he revealed that he'd stolen it from Vlad Masters. Eventually they passed a building that wasn't a bar, but sparked the ghost singer's interest all the same.

"Hey, look! A night club! Let's go in."

"No."

"Please? We don't have to stay long."

After a few minutes of arguing, she dragged Danny into the club and they got a table. "Now what?" Danny asked, not hiding his reluctance to be there at all.

"Now we dance."

"Hell no."

"Come on, baby pop!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't dance."

"Please?"

"I paid for your drinks last night and got you out of prison today. I'm fine with doing those things, but I refuse to dance."

"You need to loosen up." As she said those words, a song by her came on. "Please? It's my song."

"Fine."

They got onto the dance floor and Danny kept things small and simple, while Ember danced her heart out. She spent a while trying to coax him out of his shell, and when he finally did some lame dance move, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. He immediately left the dance floor.

She chased him back to the table and tried to convince him that she thought he wasn't that bad, which was a complete lie. He was terrible. She failed, and they ended up not doing much for the rest of the night. They crossed the street and rented a room with two beds, causing her to tease him about his need for boundaries.

"Sorry, Ember, but a few drinks and a bad dance move doesn't make us that close."

"Yeah, yeah. I think you just wouldn't be able to contain yourself."

They lay in their respective beds for a while before Danny asked, "You still awake?"

She responded, "No, I'm dead asleep." The pun made them both chuckle slightly.

"Remember when I killed Skulker and you said that stuff to me? "

"Vaguely."

"When you said you spoke from personal experience—"

"I said might or might not."

"Okay, _if_ you were speaking from personal experience, what was the experience?"

"Well, It's not that long of a story…"

* * *

**A/N: As stated above, this is for a friend. That does not, however, mean that it will be a simplistic, stupid love story. There will be a larger plot behind it, I'm just not quite sure what yet. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, guys. Here's chapter 2. Remember the "actual plot" I was talking about? Well let's see if anyone predicted this.**

**Oh, also, if you want the disclaimer, read chapter 1.**

* * *

"It was 1975. I was in high school, dreaming about being a rock star. I was the awkward one that nobody remembered for more than a few days at a time. I tried not to let it get to me, but after a while, you can't help it, you know?" A slight nod from the other ghost. He knew all too well what she meant. "One day, a guy asked me out to the movies, and I thought my troubles were over. Of course, it's never that simple. I sat outside that movie theater for _twelve hours_ telling myself that he was running late. When I finally gave up and walked home, I spiraled into a deep depression on the way. I was bitter. Who wouldn't be? I went home that morning and, thinking that everyone in my family would be at work or school, set the house on fire. I made it look like an accident, of course, so that my parents could collect on two insurance policies. It wasn't until a second before the flaming rafter fell on me and killed me that I heard the screams of my little sister, who was at home instead of school. Only a second before I died, but it was the worst second of my life, and my death."

"Wow, Ember. I… don't know what to say. I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Everyone is." If he didn't know that it was too dark for him to see at all, Danny would have thought he saw a tear on the ghost rocker's cheek. She shook herself a bit to get herself out of the trance. "Anyway, back to the moral of the story. I moved on after a while, and I became the biggest rock star in the Ghost Zone. Don't do drugs, kids."

Danny outright laughed at that. He didn't even know that he remembered how to laugh.

"Oh, so the ghost boy does have feelings."

"Whatever. I'm tired. Night, Ember."

"Night, dipstick."

They awoke the next morning to a familiar purple-cloaked figure. He was floating at the foot of Danny's bed, looking like the Ghost Zone version of Edward Cullen. He saw Danny stirring.

"So I see you've finally been socializing." He particularly emphasized the last part with a nod towards Ember.

"Clockwork! I've been looking everywhere for you! And if you'd really been watching, you'd have known this wasn't like that."

"Yes, well, we need to talk."

"You're telling me!" I need you to send me back to when the Nasty Burger blew up. I need to save them."

"I'm sorry, Danny, truly sorry, but I can't."

"What? Why not?"

"It's those damned Observants. They think I need to be more objective, and show less favoritism. If I sent you back, I'd lose my job."

"Then why the hell are you here?"

"Something evil is stirring. I cannot see the future clearly, but I cannot help but think it has something to do with the recent inactivity of Plasmius."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I think you know."

"Oh, no. My ghost hunting days are over."

"Daniel, you're the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone. If anyone can stop whatever's coming, it's you."

"No."

"Please, Danny."

"Sounds like you don't have much choice, dipstick. Stop trying to say no, and go save the world. That's what you're good at remember. If all else fails, you can dance until he laughs so hard he just falls down dead."

"Real clever, Ember. Fine, Clockwork. What do you want me to do?"

"I'm going to send you two years into the future. You'll have to figure it out from there, because I'm blind right now."

"Alright. Guess that'll do."

"Oh, by the way, you're going, too." The time ghost indicated Ember.

"No. That wasn't the deal."

"Face it Danny, you're going to need help, and ghosts in the future might not be as kind to you."

"I'm still not going to force anyone into anything. If you want to come, fine. If not, fine."

"Well I don't have anything better to do, so I guess I'm with the dipstick."

Clockwork smiled a bit. "Alright, through the portal with you, and you might want to bring these." Clockwork handed them each a medal as he opened the portal. They stepped through and barely had time to duck as a black-gloved hand shot through the portal. Danny was once again face to face with Vlad Plasmius.

When he removed his hand from the portal, he was holding a struggling Clockwork. "Finally. I knew you'd come to me eventually, herding your little pet. I have news for you, Clockwork. Even this boy has no hope of defeating me now. Plasmius may have been merely a match for Daniel, but I am no longer Plasmius. I have ascended beyond the ordinary ghost rabble. I have become evil incarnate. I wreak death upon every being that stands in my way. I am Antas. I will—" He was interrupted by a ghost ray to the gut.

"I hate monologues."

"Ah, yes. Danny Phantom. The ghost boy. And I see you've brought along a little cheerleader."

Ember started to say something, but Danny stopped her. There was something different about Vlad. He had always been a cocky bastard, but now it seemed like he had the power to back up his big talk. Danny didn't know what was up with Vlad, but he knew one thing. The ghost radiated evil. Most ghosts weren't all bad, they just had something against someone. This was different. Vlad looked like he just wanted to kill. He wanted to light the world on fire so that he could kick back and watch the fireworks. He really wasn't Plasmius anymore.

"You can see it, can't you, Daniel? The extent of my powers. It frightens you, doesn't it? After I finish with Clockwork, I will be truly unstoppable. Would you like to see the instrument that has led to this?" He puts on a glove that is horribly familiar to Danny.

"That's the glove the other me used to separate you from your human self!"

"Close. I made some modifications. Now the glove simply assimilates the ghost into me, entwining their powers with mine. Here, I'll give you a demonstration with Clockwork, and then it's your turn."

"If you're so much more powerful than me, why do you need my powers?"

"Not powers, so much as power. That wail of yours can do some heavy damage to a widespread area. I want it."

"Well as much as I'd love to just give you my powers, I really don't want to die today."

"You've got a minute to think your last thoughts. The time ghost is first."

"See, problem with that is that he's my ride back."

"Aren't we clear that you won't be _going_ back?"

"Not really."

The ghost ray hit Plasmius, or rather Antas, in the face this time. "Wow, that stung a little." He fired back with his own ghost ray, blasting Danny about a hundred meters away. He fired a bunch of blasts in rapid succession, and Danny took the beating of his life—or rather death. Just as he was about to deliver the finishing blow and consume the helpless ghost boy, he was hit with a spectral fist accompanied by a blaring chord.

The blow caught him off guard, and Ember had just enough time to get Danny and get out of there. Clockwork had been knocked unconscious earlier, and she felt bad about leaving him, but she wouldn't make it out alive if she tried. She looked over at the ragged, defeated form of the most powerful ghost in the world and shed a single tear. Things would get worse before they got better. They always did.

* * *

Danny woke the next morning to Ember closing the door to the hotel room she had gotten them. "Morning, Dipstick."

"Ember, was that… real?"

"Yeah, Danny, it was."

"Shit. He got so powerful…"

"From what I gathered, he's taken the powers of Walker, Technus, Desire, and the Ember from this time period, along with hundreds of others, including Pariah Dark and Frostbite."

"And now Clockwork."

"He's not someone you want to mess with, Danny. You were the most powerful back then, but it's hard to believe Plasmius is even still a ghost."

"He's not. Didn't you hear him? Evil incarnate? Death to everyone who opposes him? Try rearranging the letters in Antas."

"Oh, my… He's calling himself the Devil."

"With all that power, he might not just be _calling_ himself that."

"You think he's…" A slight nod from Danny answered her question. "Then how the hell are we supposed to stop him?"

"'We'? No offense, but you aren't really the selfless, world-saving type."

"Did I mention he essentially _ate me?_" _Plus nobody's allowed to beat the shit out of my friends but me._ She didn't voice the last part, but it was the real reason she wanted to beat Plasmius, or Antas or Satan or whatever they were calling him. "Back to the original question, how are we going to beat him?"

"Simple. We train. We get better at everything. We have to outdo him in every way. Then we have to kill him."

"Are you sure you can handle killing again?"

"No, but this isn't about what I can or can't do. If he's got the same unlimited powers as the devil, then I can't have limits either. If he's the Devil, then I have to become a god."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It is."

"How do you plan on training without being noticed?"

"It's a big Ghost Zone, and I have a place in mind."

* * *

About a half-hour later, they were standing knee deep in snow. "You know, this isn't exactly my ideal first date, baby pop." Ember was just teasing Danny, but she really did hate the cold.

"Sorry, but the realm of the far frozen is Ideal for training under the radar. Lots of stuff to hit, and blizzards make it hard to see or hear us. Unless you can think of a better place, this is where we're gonna stay."

Ember grudgingly agreed that this was the best place to train. Suddenly, a flash of green whizzed past her face. "Hey! Watch where you aim those damned things!"

"You're right, I should be more careful." The next one grazed her left shoulder. "What did you think we were training on, snowmen?"

She refused to admit that he had just about hit the nail on the head. Instead, she cranked up her guitar and melted some snow with the flames erupting from it. He nimbly dodged it and threw an explosive ecto-ring at her. It narrowly missed, but the shock wave caught her and she fell face first into the snow. Danny helped her up, then fell over laughing.u defeat me.

"Well isn't this cute?" The voice made them both snap to attention. There was a projection of Antas' face in a pink border hovering above them. "Never Fear, little badger. I'm not coming to get you. I have Clockwork's powers now, remember? I can see every possible future, and there is no future in which you defeat me. I shall reign supreme, and here is nothing you can do about it."

"Just come here to gloat, then?"

"No, Daniel. I'm here to tell you that if you leave well enough alone, I will spare your life."

"And why would you do that?"

"You have proven a worthy adversary over the years, perhaps my only one. I feel that degree of power is worth a reward."

"You can see every future, right? So you know that I'd never agree to that. Power isn't something you attain just because you want a reward for it. Power is something you get because you want to be able to protect something, and it is something you use to protect that until the end."

"I had a feeling that was going to be your answer. Ah, well. Goodbye for now, Daniel."

Just like that, the projection was gone. Ember had elected to stay out of the conversation, and now, looking at Danny, she was glad she had. His face had hardened. His electric green eyes were fixed into a piercing glare. His hands were curled into tight fists. The snow around him melted as quickly as it fell. He meant business, and it was evident in his tone as he said three words.

"Time to train."

* * *

**So who guessed the antagonist was an evil SuperVlad? Seriously, who? If you did, then you're Clockwork, because I didn't even know it was him until I wrote it.**

**Oh, and a shout out to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks guys.**

**I'm also already working on Chapter 3, so if you have any suggestions, which I'm open to if I haven't mentioned it, better make them fast.**


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